


The Grid

by TheDeep



Category: CSI: NY
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-13
Updated: 2014-08-13
Packaged: 2018-02-12 23:34:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2128650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDeep/pseuds/TheDeep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny knows he's been looking to be on the promotion grid. He knows he's been after supervising his own team one day. So Mac puts him as lead on the next case, whether it be triple homicide or million dollar ransom, to put him on the grid for Detective First Grade. It's a big step - a leap of trust that Danny doesn't plan to take for granted. But neither detective could've guessed just what that next case would be, and it turns out to be much more than just a run for justice and a chance for a promotion to the top of the field.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Take The Reins

**Author's Note:**

> This story is also posted on my Quotev profile. I am under the same screen name there as I am here, TheDeep, so if you find this story also posted there, that's why. ;) I wanted this noted so everyone knew.  
> -Thanks, TheDeep

The night sky was dappled with a few stars as it hugged the skyline of Manhattan that night. It had been a long day for the investigators of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit. And it was time to call it a night.  
  
Mac slipped his gloves off, sitting back with a sigh as he rubbed at tired eyes. But his attention was taken again as Danny walked in, slipping his gloves off as well. "Danny," Mac greeted, "What are you still doing here? You've got Lindsay and Lucy at home to keep your eyes on, don't you?"  
  
The younger investigator smiled slightly. "Come now, Mac... I could ask you the same question, couldn't I?" he asked, sinking into the chair beside his boss. "What seems to be the trouble?"  
  
Mac momentarily smiled - a small smile of knowledge that his team knew him all too well - and then sat up again with a soft sigh. "You know... I reckon I'm having the same trouble I remember you explaining all too well back in the day," he said. "All the evidence the City's got to offer me, and I can't find the connections to see the full picture."  
  
Danny smiled, sitting forward himself. "What is it you used to tell me? 'Take your eyes out of it; talk through it'?"  
  
Taylor smiled a little more this time. "Something like that," he replied.  
  
Danny nodded, "Alright. So talk me through it."  
  
Mac shook his head, still smiling. "You are going to make a fine supervisor one of these days, Danny. Mark my words," he said, standing and sliding his lab coat off before hanging it up for the night.  
  
Danny stood and followed him out of the lab and back into the halls. "So... Maybe some other time on that case?" he asked, a hint of a tease hidden in his voice.  
  
Mac shot the younger investigator a look over his shoulder as he led the way into his office. "Alright, fine. You got me. It's late, Danny... Even I've got my limits," he said as he walked around his desk, scanning his gaze quickly over the screen of his computer before he shut it down and started to search for the keys to his truck.  
  
Danny, meanwhile, took a seat on the couch across the office from his boss. "Since when has that stopped you? C'mon, Mac... Talk to me," he insisted, a smile starting to tug at his lips as he saw one start to play across Mac's face as well as the senior detective found his keys after sifting through some of the reports he'd stacked on his desk for reading over at a later time.  
  
Finally, he looked up, seeing the look on Danny's face and caving, taking a seat in his chair as he tossed his keys back to his desk. "33 year old vic from Brooklyn. Stell and I found her body in Manhattan in her friend's apartment. No family left from what we've heard, and she works as a waitress in a local place just four blocks from where we found her. Friend says she hasn't seen our vic in weeks, loaned out the apartment to her when she found a job and... She's got a boyfriend."  
  
Danny raised an eyebrow, taking the hint from Mac's pause and tone of voice that it was one of  _those_  boyfriends. "One of them?" he asked, just to make sure.  
  
Mac nodded in confirmation. "Sid found old fractures that have healed. And when we spoke to the boyfriend..." He stopped and sighed, shaking his head. "How do I put it nicely?"  
  
Danny smirked a little in amusement. "How about stating it bluntly?" he suggested, "I, personally, was never really good with softening those kinds of things."  
  
Mac smiled a little and shrugged. "Let's just say that Stella and I had a hard time keeping his focus off of checking the pair of us out and on what the topic of discussion was."  
  
Now both of Danny's eyebrows were raised. "Wait, whoa... Go back a sec... Who was this guy?"  
  
Mac smiled a bit more and nodded, knowing exactly what Danny was trying to get at. "Devon Thompson, boyfriend of Laura Daves, our vic," he said.  
  
"And he was checkin' you and Stell out? And I'm guessing it wasn't because you did the whole 'I'm a cop' thing and flashed your badge a little too close to his face, right?" Danny questioned. Wow... Now he wasn't so confused about why Mac was having trouble with this guy.  
  
That actually made Taylor smirk. "Believe it or not, that might've had something to do with it," he said. "Anyways, we can't place him at the scene, and he claims he hasn't spoken with her since she jumped to her friend's place. Phone records confirm that much for him."  
  
Danny nodded. "So you're calling it a day?"  
  
Mac nodded, standing again and this time grabbing his jacket after sliding his phone into his pocket. "I'm gonna sleep on it," he said as he pulled on his jacket, then grabbed his keys, "And I'll get back at it tomorrow and see if a new day can shed any new light on anything I might've missed."  
  
Danny shrugged and nodded as he stood, getting the door to the office as Taylor shut the lights off before the pair started out, heading for the elevators. "I can't say that I blame you. Sounds reasonable enough."  
  
Mac nodded, studying the younger investigator carefully as they reached the elevators and Danny pressed the 'down' button for the pair of them. "You've been thinking about First Grade, haven't you?"  
  
Danny looked up abruptly to see the knowing look in Mac's level gaze. He had honestly not expected to bring that up tonight. Especially after the long day. And he couldn't lie. Not on something like this. "Honestly, I have, Mac... I've thought about it a lot. Crime Scene's home, you know? And one day... Well, it'd be nice to have my own team."  
  
Mac had nodded as he listened and the pair then stepped on the elevator that arrived with a 'ding' that broke through their conversation almost rudely. Regardless, Mac picked it up where they'd left off after the doors closed. "Have you brought it up to Lindsay?"  
  
Messer nodded. "Yeah... I couldn't do it without her. That's just not something I could do," he said with a shrug. "She's behind me... And I love her for it. She's always been there."  
  
Mac smiled slightly, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "That's what family does. That's what this team is, Danny. Family." Then it was time for them to get off, and they had both started for the garage when Mac turned back to him again. "I want you lead on the next case. Show me you can run the team on a full-scale day, and I won't hesitate to consider the bump," he said. He shrugged. "Play my intern, is what I'm basically telling you. Take the reins tomorrow, and keep your control. Remember that your detectives are the people who will count on you and you'll have to count on. Be considerate when you deal with them, and remember they've got their own strengths and weaknesses. You need any help, you can call on me, but I won't do it for you," he said. "Show me a full day tomorrow running the team and assigning out the detectives to cases, and you'll be set." He then smiled and gave the younger man a reassuring pat on the back. "I know you can do it. Prove me right."  
  
Danny blinked in surprise, but nonetheless followed Mac as they both continued to their vehicles. "Whoa... You really mean it?"  
  
Mac turned back to him and nodded. "I said it, didn't I?" he asked.  
  
Danny nodded and licked at his lips. "Wow, Mac... It'd be an honor. I'll do it," he said, "Thanks."  
  
Mac smiled slightly. "Don't mention it, Danny. I'm only getting older, aren't I?"  
  
"Aww, c'mon, Mac! You've got years before we'll have to chase you out of the office yet," Danny shot back at him.  
  
That actually got a laugh from Taylor. "Maybe so, but I'll still need someone to take the reins after I leave. You've come far since your first days on the Unit, Danny," he pointed out as they reached his truck and he stopped at the door to turn back to his detective, "There was something that made me hire you, even after what they told me. I don't regret that move, Danny. I want you to know that." He then paused, checking the time on his watch. "Call into the rest of the team, let them know the plans for the upcoming day, and I'm looking forward to seeing you on-scene tomorrow." And then, as if it occurred to him suddenly as a good idea to add, he said, " _Boss._ "  
  
Danny smile a little. "You got it, Detective Taylor," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early. You an' me, I believe. We'll tackle a case together if it fits in."  
  
Mac smiled a little and nodded. "You're the boss. Call it as you feel right, Danny."  
  
With that, Taylor climbed into his truck and started it as Danny split to his own car, anticipating the next day's work and also a little nervous about it, if he was entirely honest.  
  
He'd have the whole team to manage, after all. And that was no easy task. But if Mac believed he could do it, he knew he could. He was determined to live up to the expectations set.  
  
But what he and the others couldn't have foreseen was just what that next case would be...


	2. Unmistakable

Sirens wailed in the early morning darkness, red and blue lights bounding in a quite foreboding manner of the sleek, black paint of a 2010 model Chevy and the squad cars reflected in the vehicle's rear window and the side-view mirrors.  
  
"Don, what the hell is this?" Danny called across the hoods of two squad cars to get the attention of the Homicide Detective.  
  
"Did you have breakfast this morning?" Don asked, face grim.  
  
Danny stopped in his tracks, and by then, the pair was standing along the yellow strip of tape. "No," he said finally, "Why?"  
  
Don sucked in a deep breath. "Let me show you," he offered, ducking under the tape with Danny following him over to the lone Avalanche. "Got a set of gloves I can borrow, Messer?"  
  
Danny nodded, setting his kit down and slipping a set of latex gloves and handing them up to Don, who slipped them on silently. Danny stayed knelt as the tall detective carefully leaned into the truck and then stepped back out, turning back to Danny and flipping open a wallet. For a moment, the Homicide Detective held his breath as if trying to control some kind of emotion. "I believe we're missing a detective... 8433."  
  
Danny shook his head as he ran a hand over his face before standing and sliding gloves on before he accepted the wallet. Using the lights cast by the squad cars, there was no mistaking that Don had positively ID'ed their missing vic. "Mac... What the hell happened...?"  
  
"That's not even where it stops getting... strange," Don said quietly. He motioned for Messer to follow him and led him to the passenger side of the truck, Danny unable to miss the striking familiarity of the license plate as he walked past the front end. Don pulled the passenger side front door open and directed the CSI inside. "I don't know about you... but I don't think you need spray to see what went down here."  
  
Danny shook his head and stepped away, pulling out his phone and dialing Stella. "I'm getting Stella out here... We've got work to do," he said, biting at his lip to keep his voice steady. He looked back at Don as his phone rang, "Anyone see anything?"  
  
"The City That Never Sleeps and I know nothing," Don muttered, shaking his head. "Officers on patrol found it and noticed the blood."  
  
"Well, there's not enough here to say the worst, Don. Mac's a fighter," Danny reasoned, his free hand pushing his glasses back in place.  
  
"That's what's got me worried," Don shot back. "You've been on the job as long as the rest of us with him. Not a lot of folks take kindly to a cop who keeps pushing!"  
  
"Relax, alright!" Danny finally snapped, "The only way we're finding Mac alive is that if we do our jobs. He'd do the same for any of us! So focus, Don!"  
  
 _"Danny, what the hell is going on?"_  
  
With a final look over the Homicide Detective, Danny sighed and stepped away from the Avalanche.  _"We've got a... situation, Stella. I need you out here ready to process. We've found Mac's Avalanche... And there's... Well... Let's just say CODIS is going to be a friend... to find a friend."_

**ooOOoo**

"Danny... What the hell happened?" Stella walked briskly up to the younger investigator, who was knelt by the driver's side door, swab in hand.  
  
Red dappled the silver lettering that characterized the name of the model of the vehicle on the door, and Danny finished his swabbing before finally looking up at Stella. "I'm thinking we're looking at a kidnapping," he said quietly, slipping the protected swab back to his kit for processing at the lab. "There's blood here, but it's not enough to say how bad we could be looking at."  
  
Stella sighed as she bit nervously at her lip and then knelt beside Danny. "Looks like you've got two types of samples here - Saliva and blood."  
  
Danny nodded in agreement. "Probably sedated after this point," he said, motioning for Stella to join him as he stood and then moved his kit out of the way to open the door. "It started here, but how? That's something I've got to determine yet." He motioned to the underside and then the rear of the Avalanche, "Tread marks of deceleration. He jammed the breaks pretty hard. I'm thinking whoever did this wasn't working alone if they managed to pull this off fast enough that Mac couldn't remind them who we are."  
  
Stella nodded in agreement. Then something caught her eye. "Did you see this?" she asked, sliding a piece of paper from under the driver's seat.

_Danny's in charge.  
-8433_

It was as simple as that. Danny looked at the paper and sighed, shaking his head slightly. "He left prints."  
  
Stella nodded. "Ridge detail and all," she murmured in agreement. She then looked up at Danny and rested a hand on his shoulder. "You can do this, Danny... Mac knows it and so do we. So let's do what we always do."  
  
Danny nodded and bit at his lip slightly. "I want the Avalanche back at the garage. You and I'll handle going over the rest of this truck, and I want it done with a fine-tooth comb if we have to. I'll get Lindsay and Adam running whatever we find. And that's how we're going at this."  
  
Stella nodded. "Let's get it done."  
  
Danny took a deep breath and nodded in agreement. "Back to the lab. The sooner we start, the less time we lose."


	3. Motive

"Guys!" Adam's voice reached the two investigators still going over Mac's Avalanche and brought them away from their examination.  
  
Danny slipped his flashlight to the pocket of the lab coat he was wearing and gave a nod to the lab tech to signal he should get started with what he'd discovered as soon as possible. "What'd you find out?"  
  
Adam handed over the tablet he'd brought with him to Stella and Danny before explaining the results displayed on the screen, "I ran the blood and the fingerprint samples you got me to work on from the scene, and, as expected, Mac left us his ten card in blood - the whole set are matches back to his prints on file from when he joined NYPD," he said with a slight frown. "I also ran the DNA from the blood and saliva you collected off the door of his Avalanche, and that's a match to Mac's profile as well. So..., in hopes of finding some other profile other than his with the samples you collected from the interior of the truck, I ran all the samples and found one sample that didn't match Mac's profile."  
  
Both CSIs looked up from studying over the tablet's screen with frowns at the tech's final words. "Who'd you get a match to?" Stella asked, her concern for her coworker clearly written in her facial expression.  
  
"I got a match to Mac's currently open case," Adam explained, taking the tablet from Danny and pulling up his next set of results for the detectives before handing the tablet over again. "Devin Thompson's blood is what you recovered from the steering wheel, Danny," he said.  
  
Messer looked up abruptly. "Thomspon?" he asked.  
  
Stella looked just as alarmed beside him. "Laura Daves's boyfriend?"  
  
Adam nodded. "I rechecked it just to make sure. I've done some work on that case for him, so I know he couldn't be placed at the scene, but Mac did get a willing DNA and fingerprint sample from him when he talked to him. Which I think is actually a miracle because the guy has every motive in the world and..."  
  
"What's his current address?" Danny asked, cutting the lab tech short and looking over at Stella, "Were you working with him on this one?"  
  
Stella shook her head. "No; we were stretched out thin so he told me he'd handle the case while I wrapped up the case I was working with Hawkes."  
  
Adam directed them to the tablet's screen again. "His address is local; he lives in Manhattan," he said.  
  
Danny handed the tech the tablet again and gave him a pat on the back before pulling his gloves off in a hurry. "Stell, you're with me. We need to talk to him about what the hell he was doing around Mac's truck." He stopped to turn back to Adam, who watched as the detectives rushed to slide their lab coats off so they could head for a chat with Thompson, and said, "Adam, I owe you big time for this one, but keep on what we've pulled here in the garage, okay? The more we know from Mac's truck, the sooner we'll find him. He left clues on purpose, I know it, so keep on them, okay?"  
  
Adam nodded and Danny was already rushing with Stella out of the garage as he called after them, "I'll call you with the results!"

 

**ooOOoo**

"Thompson, you better open this door or I'm going to kick it in! NYPD!" Stella yelled, her face reading unhinged anger and frustration. Her boss was out there somewhere, and she knew he hadn't left them his ten card in blood for shits and giggles. Mac Taylor knew how to handle himself, and she knew he'd left them clues enough to hopefully find him. And do so before he potentially was killed.

"What the hell...?" Thompson's voice was a growl that filtered through the door as Danny and Stella stepped back, hands on their holsters in case something should happen that they would need their guns for. When Devin finally opened the door, both detectives took good note of his busted lip and the brute of a man glared at both of them. "What the  _hell_  do you want at such an ungodly hour?"

It was almost eight in the morning by now - hardly an ungodly hour to go knocking on doors. They'd started processing Mac's Avalanche at the garage around six, and it had been found at roughly 5:30.

"We need to talk," Danny said, his glare warning of a threat that Messer didn't yet give out verbally.

Devin scowled in distaste at the glare but stepped back to let both detectives in before shutting the door behind them when they had entered. "What do you want now? I know you guys have already questioned the hell out of me over Laura's murder, and I ain't got nothing new to tell you!" he snapped.

"This isn't about Laura's death," Stella shot back at him, matching his heated tone. "I'm sure you remember Detective Taylor?"

"Damn right, I do," Devin growled, "He's been riding my ass about Laura's murder since I first heard his name. You should tell him he's damn lucky I haven't already filed a harassment and police brutality charge against him!"

"What'd he do?" Danny snapped at the suspect, his question asked in a challenging tone, "He flash his badge a little too close to your face, so you abducted him?" he asked, "Where is he, you bastard?"

"What in God's name are you talking about?" Devin asked, staring with threatening eyes at the detectives in front of him, "You telling me your little friend's missing?"

"We recovered your blood from his truck, you smartass," Stella muttered, returning his moody tone of response as she studied him with a glare, "And he left us his prints, all in his blood. Hell, there's enough blood of his there to suggest someone beat him up pretty good when they abducted him!" She stopped to scowl and glanced over at Danny. "Messer, how much do you wanna bet with me that this guy here didn't do it?"

Danny took her hint and played along, "Oh, I wouldn't bet on that side, Stell... He looks pretty guilty standing here like he is, ya know?"

Thompson looked ready to growl something else at them, but Stella stopped him, "What happened to your lip?"

"You get that when Detective Taylor hit you?" Danny added, his gaze stern and cold.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Devin growled, the sound coming from deep in his throat. "But from the way he acted about his investigation, I'd say he got what was coming to him."

Danny shoved the man against the nearest wall forcefully. "Where the hell is he, you sorry son of a bitch?!" he yelled at Thompson, "What'd you do to him, huh? I swear to God, if you hurt him, I'll make you rot in hell for whatever you did to him!"

"Danny!" Stella yelled, peeling detective from suspect and standing between the two men, now glaring at both of them. "Keep you head level, Danny... I need your focus on this one."

"Look who's hot as hell," Devin sneered with a satisfied grin. "Detective, can I file a charge for that?"

"Free country, isn't it?" Stella growled at him, satisfied greatly that she could silence him with her threatening gaze. She grabbed Danny by the arm and pulled him with her as she started to make her leave from the apartment. "C'mon, Danny... We'll have better luck figuring out where Mac is from the clues he left us. Let's get back to the lab."

Danny pulled his arm free from Stella's grasp and let her go ahead to their vehicle waiting outside as he paused in the doorway, glaring back at Thompson and pointing a finger at him, "I swear, if I find out that you really are responsible for this, I will come after you personally, you hear me?"

Thompson grinned and nodded. "Good luck finding Detective Taylor," he said simply. "Oh, and shake the guy who did it's hand for me when you find him. I'd like to thank him for taking that asshole down a notch."

Messer only growled before slamming the door behind him and shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his jacket as he headed after Stella to get back to the lab. He wasn't going to let whoever had done this, whether it be Thompson or someone else in the end, get away with it. Mac was much more than his boss - he was a friend and even a father figure, in a sense. So he meant it when he'd promised Thompson that he'd go after him personally if he was involved. And DNA didn't lie.  _He's got something to do with it,_  he thought as he joined Stella in the car finally,  _Now the trouble is finding out how._


End file.
